First Grade · Writing · week 2

Telling Sentences and Asking Sentences

Tell the difference between a telling sentence (statement) and an asking sentence (question), and punctuate each correctly.

A telling sentence shares information. It tells you something and ends with a period. "The sky is blue." is a telling sentence.

An asking sentence wants an answer. It asks something and ends with a question mark. "Is the sky blue?" is an asking sentence. Notice the words often flip around at the start of a question.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Say sentences aloud with your voice rising at the end for questions and falling for statements -- the sound often matches the punctuation.
  • Practice flipping a few telling sentences into asking sentences together, out loud, before writing them down.
  • Point out question words like who, what, where, when, why, and how, since many questions start with one of them.
  • Keep both kinds of sentences short this week -- the goal is telling the two apart, not writing long sentences.
Talk about it:
  • How can you tell a sentence is asking something just by looking at the end mark?
  • What happens to the words when you turn a telling sentence into a question?
  • Can you think of a question word that often starts an asking sentence?

Mastery looks like: They correctly label sentences as telling or asking and can flip a telling sentence into an asking one.

Common stumbles: Writing a question but ending it with a period out of habit, or forgetting to move the verb to the front when flipping a sentence.

See it visually

Interactive, spoken-aloud tools that show this idea in motion.

Sentence BuilderDrag word tiles into a real sentence, with a capital and end mark.try →Punctuation PowerThe same words as a statement, a question, or a shout — hear it change.try →
Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of Writing for this learner.
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